Thursday, March 31, 2016

3:32 PM

GOP state Rep. Al Ott, first elected to the Assembly in 1986, announced today he will not seek re-election this fall.

"Thirty years ago, I ran for the state Assembly out of my genuine desire to serve the public and bring the voice of northeast Wisconsin to Madison," Ott said. "While much has changed during my tenure, my commitment to my constituents and my desire to enact sound public policy has not. I am truly blessed and humbled to have had this opportunity."

Ott, R-Forest Junction, is the longest continuously serving member of the Assembly. Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee, served in the body in the 1960s. But he left for more than three decades before he was elected again in 2004. Likewise, Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, was first elected in 1984 but left in the early 1990s before winning his current seat in 2008.

Ott becomes the ninth member of the Legislature to opt against seeking re-election this fall. The two Dems are Sen. Nikiya Harris Dodd, of Milwaukee, and Rep. Andy Jorgensen, of Milton. The Republicans are: Sens. Rick Gudex, of Fond du Lac, and Mary Lazich, of New Berlin, and Reps. Dave Heaton, of Wausau; Dean Knudson, of Hudson; Tom Larson, of Colfax; and John Murtha, of Baldwin.-- By JR Ross